The Great Trouble

Eel realizes that he must confirm that nobody else in the neighborhood of Mrs. Eley’s niece has cholera; this will prove that the niece did not transmit the illness herself. He walks the several miles to Islington, and a servant at the niece’s house confirms that nobody else in Islington has fallen ill.

Eel heads quickly to Mrs. Miggle’s house, neglecting to follow his own advice to always be on the lookout for Fisheye Bill. Suddenly, someone grabs him from behind and throws him into a horse-drawn cab. He is hit on the head and falls unconscious. When he wakes, the cab is rocking with motion, and he is tied up. He realizes that Fisheye has kidnapped him. Eel tries to gather his thoughts and discern his location. He worries about Dilly, who is now lost in a strange neighborhood. The cab eventually stops, and Fisheye herds Eel into a dark, smelly room that Eel doesn’t recognize. Fisheye demands to know where Eel is hiding Henry, whom he wants to use to help him beg and steal.

Fisheye continues to question Eel, but Eel refuses to answer. A woman named Kate enters, smelling strongly of cheap perfume. She pretends to be astonished that Eel is hiding Henry from Fisheye, and she soon reveals that she is part of the scheme to earn money using Henry’s innocent looks. The dirty room makes Eel regret not visiting Abel Cooper at the Lion, whom he belatedly realizes that he could have trusted with his secret about Henry. Fisheye viciously beats Eel with a belt while Kate holds him down, but Eel doesn’t reveal anything about Henry. They tie Eel up and shove him under the bed. Gagged with an old rag and unable to think of how to escape, Eel sleeps.

Thursday, September 7

The next morning, someone knocks on Fisheye’s door. By the smell, Eel knows that the visitor is Nasty Ned, the mudlark. Ned sees Eel and shouts his apology; he reveals that he reported Eel’s survival to Fisheye, but he didn’t think that Fisheye would hurt Eel. When Fisheye threatens Ned, the boy promises not to say anything to anyone, which infuriates Eel. Kate and Fisheye depart, leaving Eel trapped in the room. He worries about Florrie and Dilly and realizes that if he cannot tell Dr. Snow what he learned in Hampstead, more people will die of cholera. He doesn’t know if his life and Henry’s are worth more than all the others he could save, but he knows that he won’t betray his little brother. Feeling hopeless, he waits for hours. When he hears footsteps coming, he fears that Fisheye is returning. Instead, it’s Thumbless Jake, who cuts Eel free and rescues him.

Jake reveals that Ned feared that Eel would be killed and would come back as a ghost to haunt Ned. For this reason, Ned told Jake where to find Eel. To Eel’s dismay, it is now after six in the evening, and he is more than two miles from Broad Street. He fears that he will never get back in time for the seven o’clock committee meeting. Betsy and her aunt suddenly spot him, and Eel asks if Betsy’s aunt has her horse available. Just then, Dilly arrives and crashes into Eel.

Later, at Florrie’s bedside, Eel recounts everything, including how he solved the mystery of the water pump. He also tells her about Henry. He reports that he, Betsy, Dilly, Thumbless Jake, and Betsy’s aunt (Mrs. Flanders) piled into the Flanders’ cab and hurried to the meeting held by the board of governors. The governors were unimpressed by Snow’s explanation until Eel reported all that he had learned in Hampstead and Islington. He repeats his speech for Florrie, then admits that he was shaking with nerves. The governors have decided to remove the pump handle the following day at 10 o’clock in the morning. If Florrie feels better, Danny and Eel will carry her down to watch. Florrie admits that she is still afraid she will succumb to cholera, but Eel is confident that she will recover. He kisses her forehead before leaving.

Friday, September 8

The next morning, Eel and an excited Dr. Snow journey to Broad Street to see the removal of the pump handle. Dr. Snow exclaims that their information will lead to the eradication of cholera, even if that day is far in the future. Eel stops by Florrie’s house. He is worried to see Danny bedraggled; Danny reports that Florrie’s condition worsened overnight but improved by morning. She is resting and cannot come to see the pump handle removed. Danny gives Eel a drawing that Florrie made, which contains the date and a sketch of the pump without its handle.

Eel sees Mr. Edward Huggins and Abel Cooper in the crowd surrounding the pump. He tells Mr. Edward that he never stole from the Lion. He apologizes and says he never defended himself because he assumed that nobody would believe his word over Hugzie’s. Mr. Edward reports that he has seen Eel helping Dr. Snow during the epidemic. He offers to help Eel after his job with Snow is concluded, but he cannot promise that he will be able to reinstate Eel in his old position at the Lion. However, Abel tells Eel that he cannot have Queenie back because she and Abel have bonded.